Norway decides to build first tunnel for ships

This file photo taken on April 12, 2013 shows a handout computer generated picture showing the Stad Ship Tunnel, the “world’s first shipping tunnel” under the Stad peninsula, western coast of Norway. (Photo by AFP)

Norway has decided to build the world's first tunnel for ships under the Stadlandet peninsula connecting the Norwegian Sea to the north and the North Sea to the south.

Norwegian Transportation Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen said he was "pleased that the ship tunnel now becomes reality." The Stadlandet peninsula, also known as Stad, is in northwestern Norway.

Solvik-Olsen said the sea currents and underwater topography around the Stadlandet peninsula "result in particularly complex wave conditions" in this region. The Stad Ship Tunnel will allow vessels to avoid the treacherous waves.

The planned 1,700-meter-long tunnel with 36 meters width and 49 meters height, which is expected to open in 2023 at an estimated cost of $314 million, would be able to accommodate cruise and freight ships weighing up to 16,000 tons.

"Over the years, plans for a ship tunnel in Stad had been floated but now a project with a financing is ready," Solvik-Olsen said.

Travel time between Norwegian cities and towns in the area would be reduced due to the planned detour short-cut, he added.

Construction work at the narrowest point of the Stadlandet peninsula is expected to start in two years.

Terje Andreassen, the manager of the project, said an estimated eight million tons of rock need to be blasted out of the ground to build the tunnel.

Under the plan, passenger ships will be given priority of pass, while leisure boats and other vessels will use the tunnel during time slots set by the tunnel operator.

Small vessels measuring less than 70 meters will be allowed free passage through the tunnel.